Do you think it's possible to control someone's attention? Even more than that, what about predicting human behavior? I think those are interesting ideas. For me, that would be the perfect superpower, actually kind of an evil way of approaching it. But for myself, in the past, I've spent the last 20 years studying human behavior from a rather unorthodox way: picking pockets. When we think of misdirection, we think of something as looking off to the side, when actually the things right in front of us are often the hardest to see, the things that you look at every day that you're blinded to.
Mendoni se eshte e mundshme te kontrolloni vemendjen e dikujt? Edhe me shume, po sikur te parashikoni sjelljen njerezore? Mendoj se keto jane ide interesante, apo jo? E kam fjalen se per mua kjo do ishte nje superfuqi perfekte, ne fakt do ishte nje menyre keqdashese. Por per veten time, ne te kaluaren, kam shpenzuar 20 vitet fundit duke studiuar sjelljen njerezore ne nje menyre jo ortodokse: si hajdut xhepash. Kur mendojme per gabimin, na vjen ne mendje dicka qe shohim rrotull, nderkohe qe shpesh gjerat qe jane perpara nesh jane me te veshtirat per te pare, gjerat qe shikoni perdite por jeni i verber ndaj tyre.
For example, how many of you still have your cell phones on you right now? Great. Double-check. Make sure you still have them. I was doing some shopping before.
Per shembull, sa prej jush i keni celularet me vete tani? Shume mire. Kontrolloni. Sigurohuni qe i keni akoma me vete. Po vija rrotull pak me pare.
(Laughter)
Mund ti keni pare disa here sot,
You've looked at them a few times today, but I'll ask you a question. Without looking at it directly yet, can you remember the icon in the bottom right corner? Bring them out, check and see how accurate you were. How'd you do? Show of hands. Did we get it?
por do t'ju bej nje pyetje per ato. Pa kontrolluar telefonin tuaj direkt, mund te kujtoni ikonen ne fund te cepit te djathte? Nxirrini ato, kontrollojini, dhe shikoni se sa te kujdesshem keni qene. Si dolet? Tregoni duart? E kuptuam?
Now that you're done, close them down. Every phone has something in common. No matter how you organize the icons, you still have a clock on the front. So, without looking at your phone, what time was it? You just looked at your clock, right? Interesting idea. Let's take that a step further with a game of trust. Close your eyes. I realize I'm asking you to do that while you just heard there's a pickpocket in the room, but close your eyes.
Tani qe mbaruat duke i pare ato, ulini, sepse cdo telefon ka dicka te zakonshme. Nuk ka rendesi se si i sistemon ikonat, ti sido qe te jete e ke nje ore perpara. Pra, pa i kontrolluar telefonat, sa ishte ora? Sapo kontrolluat oren tuaj, sakte? Eshte nje ide interesante. Tani do ju kerkoj te shkojme pak me para me nje loje besimi. Mbyllini syte. E kuptoj qe po ja u kerkoj kete edhe pse sapo degjuat qe ka nje xhepist ne salle, por mbyllini syte.
Now, you've been watching me for about 30 seconds. With your eyes closed, what am I wearing? Make your best guess. What color is my shirt? What color is my tie? Now open your eyes. Show of hands, were you right? Interesting, isn't it?
Ju me keni pare per rreth 30 sekonda. Me syte mbyllur, cfare kam veshur? Beni hamendesimin tuaj me te mire. Cfare ngjyre ka kemisha ime? Cfare ngjyre eshte kollarja ime? Tani hapini syte. Ngrini duart kush kishte te drejte? Eshte interesante apo jo? Disa nga ne jane pak
Some of us are a little bit more perceptive than others, it seems. But I have a different theory about that model of attention. They have fancy models of attention, Posner's trinity model of attention. For me, I like to think of it very simple, like a surveillance system. It's kind of like you have all these fancy sensors, and inside your brain is a little security guard. For me, I like to call him Frank. So Frank is sitting at a desk. He's got lots of cool information in front of him, high-tech equipment, he's got cameras, he's got a little phone that he can pick up, listen to the ears, all these senses, all these perceptions. But attention is what steers your perceptions, it's what controls your reality. It's the gateway to the mind. If you don't attend to something, you can't be aware of it. But ironically, you can attend to something without being aware of it. For example, the cocktail effect: You're in a party, having conversations with someone, and yet you can recognize your name without realizing you were listening to that.
me te mprehte se te tjeret. Keshtu duket. Por une kam nje teori tjeter per kete, per modelin e vemendjes. Ka disa modele vemendjeje, modeli i vemendjes, triniteti i Posner. Per mua, me pelqen ta mendoj me thjesht, pak a shume si nje sistem mbikqyrjeje. Eshte pak a shume sikur te kesh gjithe keto sensoret e bukur, dhe brenda mendjes tende ndodhet nje roje sigurie. Mua me pelqen ta quaj Frank. Pra Frank eshte ulur ne nje tavoline. Ka shume informacione te kendshme para tij, aparatura te teknologjise se larte, ka kamera, ka nje telefon te vogel qe mund te degjoje gjithe keto sensor, gjithe keto perceptime. Por vemendja eshte ajo qe orienton perceptimet e tua, eshte ajo qe kontrollon realitetin. Eshte rruga per ne mendje. Nese nuk i jep vemendje dickaje, nuk mund te jesh ne dijeni per te. Por ironikisht, mund ti japesh vemendje dickaje pa qene ne dijeni per te. Prandaj ekzsiton efekti i koktejlit: Kur je ne nje feste, je duke biseduar me dike, dhe perseri ti e njeh emrin tend dhe nuk e kupton se si je duke e degjuar ate.
Now, for my job, I have to play with techniques to exploit this, to play with your attention as a limited resource. So if I could control how you spend your attention, if I could maybe steal your attention through a distraction. Now, instead of doing it like misdirection and throwing it off to the side, instead, what I choose to focus on is Frank, to be able to play with the Frank inside your head, your security guard, and get you, instead of focusing on your external senses, just to go internal for a second.
Une, per shak te punes, duhet te loz me teknika per ta shfrytezuar ate, te luaj me vemendjen tuaj si nje burim i limituar. Pra nese do mundesha te kontrolloja se si e shpenzoni vemendjen tuaj Nese do mund te vidhja vemendjen tuaj permes nje hutimi. Tani, ne vend qe ta bej si nje orientim te gabuar dhe duke e hedhur ate jashte ane, ne vend te kesaj, ajo cka zgjedh per perqendrim eshte Frank, per te patur mundesi te luani me Frankun brenda mendjes tuaj, me rojen e sigurise tuaj, dhe tju bej, ne vend qe te fokusoheni ne shqisat e jashtme, thjesht te beheni te brendshem per nje sekond.
So if I ask you to access a memory, like, what is that? What just happened? Do you have a wallet? Do you have an American Express in your wallet? And when I do that, your Frank turns around. He accesses the file. He has to rewind the tape. What's interesting is, he can't rewind the tape at the same time that he's trying to process new data.
Pra nese ju kerkoj te hyni ne nje memorie, si, cfare eshte kjo? Cfare ndodhi? Ju ndodhet nje portofol? Ju ndodhet nje karte krediti ne portofolin tuaj? Dhe kur e bej kete, Franku i juaj kthehet pas. Ai hyn ne dosje. I duhet ta riktheje kaseten. Dhe ajo cka eshte interesante eshte se ai nuk mund ta rikthej kaseten ne te njejten kohe qe po perpiqet te perpunoje te dhena te reja.
This sounds like a good theory, but I could talk for a long time, tell you lots of things, and a portion of them may be true, but I think it's better if I tried to show that to you here live. If I come down, I'm going to do a bit of shopping. Just hold still where you are.
Dua te them qe kjo duket si nje teori e mire, por mund t'ju flisja per nje kohe te gjate e t'ju thoja shume gjera, dhe ato mund te jene te verteta, nje pjese e tyre, por do ishte me mire t'ju tregoja juve ketu drejt per se drejti. Pra nese zbres poshte, do bej pak pazar. Qendroni ne vend aty ku jeni.
Hello, how are you? It's lovely to see you. Wonderful job onstage. Lovely watch, it doesn't come off very well. Do you have a ring as well? Good. Just taking inventory. You're like a buffet. Hard to tell where to start, so many great things.
Pershendetje, si jeni? Eshte kenaqesi qe ju shoh. Kryet nje pune te mire ne skene. Keni nje ore te bukur e cila nuk hiqet lehte. E keni dhe unazen tuaj gjithashtu? Mire. Thjesht po kryej nje inventar. ju jeni si nje bufe. Eshte e veshtire t'ja nisesh, ka kaq gjera te bukura.
Hi, how are you? Good to see you.
Pershendetje, si jeni? Kenaqesi qe ju shoh.
Hi, sir, could you stand up, please? Just right where you are. You're married, you follow directions well. Nice to meet you, sir. You don't have a lot in your pockets. Anything down here? Hopefully so. Have a seat. There you go. You're doing well.
Si jeni zoteri, a mund te ngriheni per mua ju lutem? Aty ku jeni. Oh, jeni i martuar. Ju i ndiqni udhezimet mire. Eshte kenaqesi t'ju takosh, zoteri. Nuk keni shume gjera neper xhepa. Dicka ketu ne kete xhep? Fatmiresisht po. Mund te uleni. Po ja dilni mire.
Hi, sir, how are you? Good to see you, sir. You have a ring, a watch. Do you have a wallet on you? Joe: I don't.
Pershendetje zoteri, si jeni? Kenaqesi qe ju shoh. Ju keni nje unaze, nje ore. A keni nje portofol me vete? Joe: Jo nuk kam.
AR: Well, we'll find one for you. Come on up this way, Joe. Give Joe a round of applause. Come on up, Joe. Let's play a game.
Apollo Robbins: Mire, do e gjejme nje per ju. Mund te vini ketej, Joe. Jepini Joes nje duartrokitje. Eja lart Joe. Le te luajme nje loje.
(Applause)
(Duartrokitje)
AR: Pardon me. I don't think I need this clicker anymore. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Come on up to the stage, Joe. Let's play a little game now. Anything in your front pockets?
Me falni. Nuk me duhet kjo telekomande me. Mund ta merni. Faleminderit shume. E vleresoj. Eja ne skene Joe. Te nisim nje loje te vogel tani. Ke dicka ne xhepat perpara? Joe: Para.
J: Money.
AR: Para. Ne rregull, le ta provojme ate.
AR: Money! All right, let's try that. Can you stand right over this way for me? Turn around and, let's see, if I give you something that belongs to me, this is just something I have, a poker chip. Hold out your hand for me. Watch it closely. This is a task for you to focus on. You have your money in your front pocket?
A mund te qendrosh ne kete menyre per mua? Kthehu para, le te shohim, nese te jap dicka qe me perket, kjo eshte dicka qe kam, nje monedhe pokeri. Zgjate doren per mua. Shikoje pak me kujdes. Tani kjo eshte nje detyre per ju qe te perqendroheni. I ke parate ne kete xhepin perpara? Joe: Po.
J: Yup. AR: Good.
AR: Mire. Realisht nuk do e fus doren time ne xhepin tend.
I won't put my hand in your pocket. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. Once a guy had a hole in his pocket, and that was rather traumatizing for me. I wanted his wallet, he gave me his number. Big miscommunication.
Nuk jam i gatshem per ate lloj angazhimi. Nje here nje djale kishte nje vrime ne xhepin e tij, dhe ajo ishte pak tramatizuese per mua. Une po kerkoja per portofolin e tij dhe ai me dha numrin e telefonit. Ishte nje komunikim i gabuar.
(Laughter)
Pra le ta bejme kete thjesht. Shtrengoji duart.
Let's do this simply. Squeeze your hand tight. Do you feel the poker chip in your hand?
Shtrengoji fort. E ndjen monedhen e pokerit ne doren tende? Joe: Po.
J: I do.
AR: Do ishe i suprizuar nese do ta largoja nga dora jote? Thuaj po.
AR: Would you be surprised if I took it? Say yes.
Joe: Shume. AR: Mire.
J: Very. AR: Good.
Hape doren. Faleminderit shume.
Open your hand. Thank you very much. I'll cheat if you give me a chance. Make it harder for me. Just use your hand. Grab my wrist, but squeeze, squeeze firm. Did you see it go? Joe: No.
Do bej hile nese ti me jep nje mundesi. Ma bej me te veshtire. Thjesht perdor doren tende. Me kap kycin, por shtrengoje fort. E pe tek tu largua?
AR: No, it's not here. Open your hand. While we're focused on the hand, it's sitting on your shoulder. Go ahead and take it off. Now, let's try that again. Hold your hand out flat. Open it up. Put your hand up a little bit higher, but watch it close. If I did it slowly, it'd be on your shoulder.
Joe: Jo. AR: Jo nuk eshte ketu. Hape doren. E shikon, teksa jemi te fokusuar tek dora, eshte duke qendruar ne supin tend ketu. Jepi, mund ta marresh. Tani, ta provojme perseri. Mbaje doren te hapur. Hape komplet. Ngrije pak doren me lart, por shikoje me kujdes Joe. Shikon po ta bej pak me ngadale, do ishte perseri ne supin tend.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
Joe, we're going to keep doing this till you catch it. You'll get it eventually. I have faith in you. Squeeze firm. You're human, you're not slow. It's back on your shoulder. You were focused on your hand, distracted. While you were watching, I couldn't get your watch off. Yet you had something inside your pocket. Do you remember what it was?
Joe, do ta bejme kete derisa ti ta kapesh ate. Do ta kuptosh perfundimisht. Kam besim tek ty. Shtrengoje fort. Ti je njeri, nuk je i avashte. Eshte perseri ne supin tend. Ishe i perqendruar ne doren tende. Prandaj ishe i hutuar. Ndersa ti po e shikoje kete, nuk mund ta hiqja lehte oren tende. Ishte e veshtire. Sidoqofte kishe dicka brenda xhepin tend te pare. E mban mend cfare ishte?
J: Money.
Joe: Para.
AR: Check your pocket. Is it still there?
AR: Kontrollo xhepin tend. Shiko nese i ke ende aty. Jane aty? (Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
Oh, there it was. Put it away. We're just shopping. This trick's more about the timing. I'm going to try to push it inside your hand. Put your other hand on top, would you? It's amazingly obvious now, isn't it? Looks a lot like the watch I was wearing, doesn't it?
Oh, aty ishin. Vazhdo nxirri. Ne thjesht po bejme pazar. Kjo loje eshte me shume per kohen. E vertet. Do perpiqem ti shty brenda dores tende. Vere doren tjeter perpara, te lutem? Eshte mrekullueshem qarte tashme, apo jo? Ngjason pak me oren qe kisha vene, apo jo? (Te qeshura) (Duartrokitje)
(Laughter) (Applause)
J: That's pretty good. AR: Oh, thanks.
Joe: Kjo eshte shume e bukur. Shume e bukur. AR: Oh, faleminderit.
(Applause)
But it's only a start. Let's try it a little bit differently. Hold your hands together. Your other hand on top. If you're watching this little token, this obviously has become a little target, like a red herring. If we watch this kind of close, it looks like it goes away. It's not back on your shoulder. It falls out of the air, lands right back in the hand. Did you see it go? Yeah, funny. We've got a little guy. He's union, works up there all day. If I do it slowly it goes straight away, it lands by your pocket. Is it in this pocket, sir? Don't reach in your pocket. That's a different show.
Por eshte thjesht nje fillim. Le te perpiqemi ta ribejme, pak me ndryshe. Mbaji duart bashke. Ngrije doren tjeter lart. Nese e shikon kete fishen e vogel, kjo qartesisht eshte kthyer ne nje objektiv te vogel. Eshte si nje harenge e kuqe. Nese do e shohim me nga afer, duket sikur eshte duke u larguar. Nuk eshte me ne supin tend. Bie dhe ulet perseri ne dore. E pe te zhdukej? Po, eshte e kendshme. Kemi nje djale te vogel. Ai eshte nje sindikate. Punon gjithe diten aty. Nese do e beja me ngadale, nese do ikte drejtperdrejt, ulet ne xhepin tend. Besoj se ndodhet ne kete xhep, zoteri? Jo, mos u drejto ne xhepin tend. Kjo eshte nje tjeter shfaqje.
(Squeaking)
Pra --(duke shfryre) -- kjo eshte disi e cuditshme. Kane te shtena per ate.
That's rather strange. They have shots for that. Can I show them? Rather bizarre. Is this yours, sir? I have no idea how that works. We'll send that over there.
A mund t'ja u tregoj atyre cfare eshte? Eshte pak e cuditshme. Eshte e juaja kjo zoteri? Nuk e kam idene si funksionon kjo. Thjesht do ta veme kete aty.
I need help with this one. Step over this way for me. Don't run away. You had something down by your pants pocket. I was checking mine. I couldn't find everything, but I noticed you had something here. Can I feel the outside for a moment? Down here I noticed this. Is this something of yours, sir? I have no idea. That's a shrimp.
Mrekulli. Me duhet ndihme me kete. Qendro ketu per mua. Tani, mos u largo. Kishe dicka ne xhepin e pantallonave. Po kontrolloja timin. Nuk mund te gjeja gjithcka, por vura re qe ti kishe dicka aty. A mund ta prek per nje moment xhepin nga jashte? Ketu poshte vura re kete. Eshte kjo e juaja, zoteri? Eshte? Nuk e kam idene. Eshte nje karkalec.
J: Yeah. I'm saving it for later.
Joe: Po. Po e ruaj ate per me vone.
AR: You've entertained all of these people in a wonderful way, better than you know. So we'd love to give you this lovely watch as a gift.
AR: I ke zbavitur gjithe keta njerez ne nje dite te bukur, me shume sec ti mund te dish. Pra do na pelqente te te dhuronim kete oren e bukur. (Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
Fatmiresisht shkon me shijet e tij.
Hopefully it matches his taste. We have a couple of other things, a little bit of cash. And we have a few other things, these all belong to you, along with a big round of applause from all your friends.
Por gjithashtu, kemi dhe disa gjera te tjera, disa para, dhe disa te tjera. Keto ju perkasin juve, bashke me nje duartrokitje te madhe nga te gjithe ju miq. (Duartrokitje)
(Applause)
Joe, te falenderoj shume.
Joe, thank you very much.
(Duartrokitje)
(Applause)
(Applause ends)
So, same question I asked you before, but this time you don't have to close your eyes. What am I wearing?
Pra, e njejta pyetje qe ju bera me pare, por kete here nuk duhet te mbyllni syte. Cfare kam veshur?
Audience: Oh!
(Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
(Hesitant applause)
(Duartrokitje)
(Applause ends)
Vemendja eshte dicka e fuqishme.
Attention is a powerful thing. Like I said, it shapes your reality. So, I guess I'd like to pose that question to you. If you could control somebody's attention, what would you do with it?
Sic ju thashe, i jep forme realitetit tuaj. Pra, ma merr mendja me duhet t'ju parashtroj ate pyetjen juve. Nese do kishit mundesi te kontrollonit vemendjen e dikujt, cfare do benit me te?
Thank you.
Falemnderit.
(Applause)
(Duartrokitje)